WENHAM, Mass.—
Carleigh Petersen's (North Hills, Calif.) two-run homer in game two helped Gordon grab a series split with Eastern Nazarene on Senior Day at the Gordon Softball Field. The Lions took game one 9-5 before Gordon bit back with the 6-3 edge in the series finale.
The Fighting Scots build their resume to 4-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and 8-12 for the season. Eastern Nazarene will enter the second half of their CCC schedule at 3-5 and 12-9 respectively.
Gordon will host Roger Williams tomorrow at 1 p.m. Eastern Nazarene heads to Curry for a twinbill on Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m.
Game One
Fireworks were aplenty in the first inning with nine runs being scored between the two teams. The Lions were able to tag Gordon rookie
Caitlin Catalanotto (Kingston, N.H.) with two RBI knocks to kick off the inning before a pair of bizarre illegal pitch calls brought in another two runs for the visitors.
The long first inning continued on the other end as Gordon opened their game at the plate with three consecutive doubles to score two quick runs.
Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) made it four straight hits to score another before scoring on an error as Gordon evened the game back at four.
Gordon took its first lead of the game just two batters later when its pitcher singled down the line to score a fifth run of the frame.
Eastern Nazarene made a quick change in the circle and it made a difference for the remainder. Elisabeth Schaffer (Benton, Pa.) pitched six and two-thirds of shutout ball, while only allowing one hit and striking out 11 Scots.
The relief appearance allowed the Lions to settle back in on offense, taking the lead back in the second with RBI singles from Lauren Clements (Garrison, Texas) and Emily Gomez (Floral Park, N.Y.) to make it a 6-5 game.
The score remained that way until the fifth when ENC tagged Gordon for three more runs.
Catalanotto took the loss for just the third time despite allowing only three earned runs of the nine that crossed the plate.
Game Two
In a bit of role reversal, Gordon put the Lions in a deep hole with five runs in the opening two frames. Petersen's two-run dinger capped off a three-run first, while
Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) added yet another RBI triple to her name in the second before scoring on a single by
Kaelie Mercado (Granada Hills, Calif.).
ENC was able to make things interesting in the third with a two-run double from Schaffer, who later scored on a wild pitch.
However, Jenkerson's run on a passed ball in the fourth was the final run to score the plate for either side.
Abigail Knowlton (Deer Isle, Maine) earned her first win of the season, allowing no earned runs in three innings of work. Kline took the game the rest of the way to get the save on just one hit allowed.
